Team Defenses Are For Nerds.

   Fantasy football commissioners of the world! Unite! Bring your league into the 21st century!  

   Fantasy football players of the world! Demand more out of your fantasy football experience!          

   Start utilizing individual defensive players (or “IDPs” as the kids call ‘em nowadays) and ride the snake like Jimmy Tango!          

   Our league did away with drafting entire team defenses in 2007, and have drafted individual defensive players (IDP) ever since. We start one linebacker (middle or outside, doesn’t matter), one defensive lineman (tackle or end, doesn’t matter) and one defensive back (corner or safety, doesn’t matter). This is good for multiple reasons:

   It adds more rounds to our LIVE draft. Any excuse to make Draft Day longer is a good thing. To all you guys that rush people through draft and complain when you use all your allotted time on your 15th round pick, SCREW YOU. Draft Day comes but ONCE A YEAR. Savor it. You’ll have plenty time to rush home and finish spackling the wall or sweeping out the garage or cleaning out the gutters 364 other days of the year.    

   Prepping for draft becomes ESSENTIAL. Which DBs return kicks? Which get more tackles? Which get more interceptions? An interception, fumble or sack is equivalent to a touchdown for an offensive player in our scoring system. Our league is all about punishing dummies that can’t draft. We’ve got all sorts of rules to punish the village idiot. Play your cards right, and your linebacker could very well make up for your second running back crapping the bed.   

   Cuts down on dumb luck. This goes back to punishing morons. Drafting team defenses is like drafting and playing all the Dolphins running backs. Any idiot could draft the Dolphins running backs and know that they are going to get a pretty kick ass performance out of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams wildcatting it up and down the field. In our league, nothing ventured, nothing gained. It makes you say, “Yes, I know that the Ravens are going to field a great defense this year, but I’m putting money on Terrell Suggs to have an amazing season. He’s my starting DL.”   

   Starting more players mean more games are more meaningful. Unless you go ahead and start Jonathan Vilma (LB) , Roman Harper (DB) and Will Smith (DL) all from the Saints (which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing), chances are you just became interested in more games. Instead of having a potential 5 – 7 meaningful playoff match-ups per weekend, you’ve now got more players playing in more games. It’s a win-win.   

   Chances for big point swings. We score interceptions, forced fumbles, fumble recoveries, sacks, safeties and defensive touchdowns equivalent to an offensive touchdown. Imagine the perfect storm. It’s Week 2, Monday Night Football. The 49ers have the Saints backed up on their own eight yard line. Drew Brees takes the snap back to the 3 yard line, Patrick Willis breaks through and hammers Brees from the blindside. Brees coughs up the ball and Willis gobbles it up, rumbling into the end zone for a defensive touchdown. Good lord, Willis just got a sack, a force fumble, a fumble recovery and a defensive touchdown. Your starting running back would have to score 4 touchdowns in the game to accomplish what Willis did IN ONE PLAY. Awesome.   

   How else can I draft Lions players and not get laughed at? Hey, Louis Delmas (DB) is the real deal and legitimate starter on your fantasy roster.  

One of the lone bright spots from another dismal season of being a Lion's fan.